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Reviews
Horizon: Life Story (1987)
Interesting, so long as you care about the subject matter
It was almost a rite of passage in my middle school, years ago, to watch this movie after a year of introductory chemistry. Part of the excitement was created by the teachers, who encouraged students to raise hands and shout "Hey!" every time James Watson did something rude, boorish, grossly American, or misogynistic. Furthermore, one teacher would energetically point and shout "He's eating!" every time Jeff Goldblum appears on-screen eating something, which is often. The movie is interesting enough, therefore, to keep a bunch of eighth-graders entertained for several class periods, but this was as much because of the peculiarities of the production and our teachers' carnival attitudes as anything else: it spends a large amount of time (mostly rightfully) reviling Watson. At any rate, if the history of DNA interests you at all, you'll find this movie interesting. If you find such things dull, you won't. If you're ambivalent, chances are that the movie's insights into the politics of science and the characters of the scientists will interest you enough anyway, even if you don't have a crowd of middle-school chemistry teachers, all too ready for summer, present to provide ridiculous callbacks.
Doctor Who (1996)
Falls short
Now, I'm not British, and I haven't by far seen all the Doctor Who that there is to see out there-- but I do have rather strong childhood memories of sitting around on Saturday afternoons with my best friend, watching samples from his British father's massive Doctor Who VHS collection, and there is therefore a nice warm little spot in my heart for the series.
I had never known before recently that a movie had been made, and when I did learn this, I did all within my power to find and watch it. I shouldn't have wasted so much effort. Even I, an American whose infatuation with the series rests mainly on grade-school nostalgia, can tell that this movie is nothing at all like Doctor Who should be. It simply is not very clever. Someone tried to make it exciting instead: there's some corridor-running, some gun-shooting, a totally-superfluous car chase, and several even-more-superfluous and out-of-character attempts at romance-- but such things are never enough to make a poorly-conceived idea into a solid success. Frankly, when I was eight, the ridiculous predicaments and, particularly, Tom Baker's funny faces did more to make me love the show than any amount of action. The decision to 'dumb down' and 'liven up' the Doctor Who concept for a broader audience kills this movie.
Sure, there are some charming bits: I liked the scenes where Paul McGann was wandering about amnesiatically, particularly the scene where he starts pulling the cardiac probe out of his chest in terror. He does a fine acting job, but the script is awful and there's nothing that even the best actors can do about that. Anything original and smart and mature that was ever in the series has been replaced by the garish and the stale.
However, I think McGann would have made a fine Doctor. It's sad that this production lost him his chance. Do I think that it was American influence that ruined it? Well, I am still firmly in the belief that Doctor Who, with its classic intelligence, is a British thing, just as Star Trek, with its brazen idealism, is an American thing. The comparison has been made before. I wouldn't trust a Brit with Star Trek; it's clear that Americans can't be trusted with Who. The American influence has been questioned on this site-- true, there was significant British and Canadian influence, but the people with the money were Americans, and they must have pushed for what they wanted to see in the production.
Hrafninn flýgur (1984)
Excellent!
My first reaction when I finished watching this movie for the first time was, "Woah, Irish ninjas versus vikings? What can be cooler than that?" Strictly, Gest isn't a ninja-- I'm being a bit facetious-- but the throwing knives, the steely resolve, and the silent lurking can make up for the cultural gap. In all respects, this is an excellent movie. The acting is great, the plot is more than a simple revenge story, and the ending is powerful. In reflection, even the unusual music fits the story well. If you can get ahold of this movie, watch it, especially if you're not Scandinavian and don't know much about Scandinavian history or culture. It was this movie that got a lot of people I know interested in learning more about that region and that era of history.
And if you're the type who likes throwing-knives, lurking, complex revenge plots, and barbarian swordplay, this is still the movie for you.